The invention relates to a remote control having a first transmitter for outputting an optical signal and a second transmitter outputting a radio signal. The two transmitters can be activated for signal output by at least one actuation element. A remotely controllable device is also described and has a first receiver for detecting the optical signal and a second receiver for detecting the radio signal. The remotely controllable device further has a mechanical control element for activating a closing function and the control element is activated by the first receiver and/or the second receiver. The invention further relates to a remote control configuration containing both the remote control and the remotely controllable device, particularly for wireless remote control of a closing device in a motor vehicle.
Published, Non-Prosecuted German Patent Application DE 43 00 600 A1 discloses a remote control configuration for wireless remote control of a closing device in a motor vehicle, where the closing device of the motor vehicle can perform two different closing functions, namely normal central locking for all the doors and xe2x80x9cadded-feature lockingxe2x80x9d, in which, additionally, all the windows and a sunroof which may be present are closed. For safety reasons, on the basis of EU guideline 74/60/EC, added-feature locking can be carried out only if there is a visual link between the remote control and the motor vehicle, so that the user can use the available visual link to check that nobody is injured when the window or the sunroof is closed. The known remote control configuration therefore has two communication paths between the remote control and the motor vehicle, one communication path being based on radio transmission, while the other communication path is based on infrared transmission in order to ensure visual contact between the remote control and the motor vehicle. In this context, added-feature locking is triggered only if both a radio signal and an infrared signal are received from the remote control, which precludes activation of added-feature locking without visual contact between remote control and motor vehicle. In contrast, normal central locking is activated even when only a radio signal is received from the remote control.
The drawback of the known remote control configuration is the fact that the infrared transmitter requires a relatively large amount of current (e.g. 20 mA), and therefore there is a relatively high loading on the battery of the remote control when added-feature locking is activated by remote control.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a remote control, a remotely controllable device and a remote control configuration which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, in which current consumption of the remote control when added-feature locking is activated is reduced, but where added-feature locking must likewise be possible only if there is a visual link between the remote control and the remotely controlled device.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a remote control containing two transmitters including a first transmitter outputting an optical signal and a second transmitter outputting a radio signal, the two transmitters each having an input. At least one actuation element for signal activating the two transmitters is provided. A clock transmitter is connected to the input of the first transmitter and/or the second transmitter for outputting the optical signal and/or the radio signal in a pulsed fashion at particular intervals of time in order to save energy. The clock transmitter is further connected to the actuation element.
The invention contains the general technical disclosure of performing signal transmission from the remote control to the remotely controllable device in pulsed fashion in order to reduce the current consumption when the remotely controllable device is activated. The remote control therefore has two transmitters whose inputs are connected to a clock transmitter in order to output the optical signal or the radio signal in a pulsed fashion at particular intervals of time in order to save energy. In this context, the optical signal and the radio signal are preferably transmitted cyclically at constant intervals of time, but acyclic transmission of the signals, for example at randomly selected intervals of time, is also possible.
In the preferred embodiment, the first transmitter, which outputs the optical signal, is connected to the first clock transmitter, and the second transmitter, which outputs the radio signal, is connected to the second clock transmitter. In order to output the optical signal, on the one hand, and the radio signal, on the other hand, at different intervals of time, the intervals of time between successive optical signals are longer than the intervals of time between successive radio signals. This is based on the realization that the current consumption when transmitting the optical signal is much higher than the current consumption when transmitting the radio signal. Therefore, the optical signal should be transmitted at longer intervals of time in order to reduce the current consumption. In contrast, the radio signal is transmitted at relatively short intervals of time in order to achieve a rapid response from the remote control to turning-off by the user. The interval of time between successive optical signals is preferably longer than 300 ms, and is 600 ms in the preferred embodiment. In contrast, the interval of time between successive radio signals is preferably shorter than 100 ms, and is merely 30 ms in the preferred embodiment.
In the preferred embodiment, the remote control has two mutually independent actuation elements, for example in the form of push-button switches, which, in the security device mentioned initially for a motor vehicle, allow separate activation of added-feature locking and of central locking, for example. The radio signal transmitter disposed in the remote control is in this case preferably connected to both actuation elements via an OR element, so that the radio signal is output when at least one of the two actuation elements is activated by the user. In contrast, the transmitter for the optical signal is preferably connected exclusively to the associated actuation element, and is therefore activated only when the actuation element is activated by the user.
However, it is also possible for added-feature locking, on the one hand, and normal central locking, on the other hand, to be activated independently of one another using a single actuation element. For this purpose, one variant of the invention provides an actuation element which, in the event of brief actuation for less than 1 s, for example, activates only normal central locking or only the radio transmitter, whereas added-feature locking or the optical transmitter is activated only when the actuation element is actuated for a longer period of time.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is further provided, in accordance with the invention, a remotely controllable device containing two receivers including a first receiver for detecting an optical signal and a second receiver for detecting a radio signal. At least one mechanical control element for activating a closing function is provided. The mechanical control element is activated by the first receiver and/or the second receiver. A holding element is connected downstream of one of the two receivers and to the mechanical control element. The holding element has a holding time being longer than an interval of time between successive signals so that the mechanical control element is not deactivated in intervals of time between the successive signals upon pulsed transmission of the optical signal and of the radio signal.
In addition, the scope of the invention provides an appropriately matched remotely controllable device that has a first receiver for detecting the optical signal and has a second receiver for detecting the radio signal. In addition, the remotely controllable device has a mechanical control element for activating a corresponding function, the control element being activated by the first receiver and/or by the second receiver. In this case, at least one of the two receivers has a holding element connected downstream of it, the holding time of the holding element being longer than the interval of time between successive signals so that the control element is not deactivated in the intervals of time between successive signals upon pulsed transmission (described above) of the optical signal or of the radio signal. In other words, the holding element thus bridges the interval of time between successive signals.
In this context, each receiver preferably has a holding element connected downstream of it, the holding time of the holding element associated with the receiver for the optical signal being longer than the holding time of the holding element associated with the receiver for the radio signal, since the optical signals are preferably transmitted at longer intervals of time in order to reduce the current consumption.
To activate a first closing function (e.g. added-feature locking), the inventive remotely controllable device preferably has a first control unit, and to activate a second closing function (e.g. normal central locking), it has a second control unit, the two control units being connected to the two holding elements via a logic circuit. Preferably, the logic circuit has an AND gate whose inputs are connected to the two holding elements and whose output is connected to the first control unit in order to activate the first closing function (e.g. added-feature locking) only when there is a visual link between the remote control and the remotely controllable device. In one variant of the invention, the logic circuit has, between the holding elements and the control units, an OR gate whose inputs are connected to the two holding elements and whose output is connected to the second control unit, so that the second closing function (e.g. normal central locking) is activated when the radio signal and/or the optical signal is received.
In addition, the invention also contains a full remote control configuration including the remote control described above and the remotely controllable device likewise described above.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a remote control, a remotely controllable device and a remote control configuration, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.